Child Directed Play

“There is an old Sanskrit word, LILA, which means play. Richer than our word, it means divine play, the play of Creation, destruction, and re-creation, the folding and unfolding of the cosmos. LILA, free and deep, is both the delight and enjoyment of this moment, and the play of God. It also means love.” Stephen Nachmanovitch

WHAT IS CHILD-DIRECTED PLAY?

Child-directed play is the name given to children’s activities when they have the opportunity to play in a safe and nurturing environment with a play practitioner giving the child total undivided attention for the whole 50 minute session. The play practitioner does not ask any questions, lead, judge, influence or interpret the play in any way. This enables the child to release tensions and ‘play to his or her heart’s content’.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Play is vital to every child’s emotional and social development. When a child has an opportunity to explore his/her hopes, fears and difficulties without judgement then the playroom becomes a growing ground for the child. If given the time and space children can work through their own problems.
Child directed play is particularly effective for:
  • emotional behavioural difficulties,
  • children who have suffered injury or bereavement
  • children who have special needs such as ADHD, Asperger’s syndrome or milder forms of Autism.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY PLAY?

‘Play means what children and young people do when they follow their own ideas and interests, in their own way and for their own reasons.’

‘…a space, some facilities or equipment or a set of activities intended to give children the opportunity to play as defined above. At its most successful, it offers children and young people as much choice, control and freedom as possible within reasonable boundaries. This is often best achieved with adult support, guidance or supervision. The children and young people may themselves choose play involving certain rules or, in some cases, informal sport.’    ‘Getting Serious About Play’2004

“All children benefit from opportunities to play but for disadvantaged children it is particularly important. Local authorities know that access to play offers children opportunities to learn and develop new skills, including physical activity. Combining play strategies with wider programmes for health, regeneration, childcare, extended schools and youth offending, will provide a powerful platform for local authorities and is capable of reducing inequalities and helping children to reach their potential.”  Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Through the Play Team we provide practitioners who use play as a means for communication.  Play is just a resource – communication is key.

WHY DOES PLAY MATTER?

Play can be a means of escape from the pressures of reality because it can relieve boredom and aids relaxation (Moyles, 1989).  This concept has since been restructured by Brown (2009) who believes that there is a serious need for play to develop socially adept children who are able to cope with stress and to be able to build cognitive skills such as problem-solving.  He further identifies that childhoods deprived of play can lead to a disruption to normal social, emotional, and cognitive development. Therefore, play, in whatever form and for whatever reasons, is essential for the emotional and cognitive growth of young children.

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